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| Pistorius to Face Psychiatric Assessment | Pistorius to Face Psychiatric Assessment |
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| Oscar Pistorius, the South African double-amputee track star, was ordered at his murder trial on Monday to undergo psychiatric tests as an outpatient to determine his mental state when he shot and killed his girlfriend in the early hours of Valentine’s Day, 2013. | Oscar Pistorius, the South African double-amputee track star, was ordered at his murder trial on Monday to undergo psychiatric tests as an outpatient to determine his mental state when he shot and killed his girlfriend in the early hours of Valentine’s Day, 2013. |
| The instruction, expected since an initial ruling last week by Judge Thokozile Matilda Masipa, shifted the nine-week-old trial into new territory, introducing mental health questions that, under South African law, could derail Mr. Pistorius’s insistence that he acted in “putative self-defense.” | The instruction, expected since an initial ruling last week by Judge Thokozile Matilda Masipa, shifted the nine-week-old trial into new territory, introducing mental health questions that, under South African law, could derail Mr. Pistorius’s insistence that he acted in “putative self-defense.” |
| Mr. Pistorius says he opened fire on a locked bathroom door at his home in Pretoria, fearing at least one intruder was about to attack him. Only when he battered down the door with a cricket bat did he discover that he had shot Reeva Steenkamp, 29, a model and law graduate. | Mr. Pistorius says he opened fire on a locked bathroom door at his home in Pretoria, fearing at least one intruder was about to attack him. Only when he battered down the door with a cricket bat did he discover that he had shot Reeva Steenkamp, 29, a model and law graduate. |
| Mr. Pistorius, 27, has denied the prosecution’s argument that the couple had argued and that he shot Ms. Steenkamp deliberately in a jealous rage. The trial, broadcast live, has reached a global audience. | Mr. Pistorius, 27, has denied the prosecution’s argument that the couple had argued and that he shot Ms. Steenkamp deliberately in a jealous rage. The trial, broadcast live, has reached a global audience. |
| Two South African lawyers not connected with the case said the country’s Criminal Procedure Act stipulated that defendants found to be suffering from a mental disorder or defect that rendered them unable to distinguish between right and wrong at the time of an offense must be committed indefinitely to a mental hospital. It was not immediately clear if that fate was under consideration for Mr. Pistorius. The lawyers were speaking in return for anonymity because the trial is continuing. | |
| Judge Masipa said on Tuesday that Mr. Pistorius would be examined as an outpatient at the Weskoppies Psychiatric Hospital in Pretoria, the South African capital, where the trial is being held in the North Gauteng High Court. The judge said that Mr. Pistorius’s examination would begin on May 26 and last no more than 30 days. He would be required to spend seven hours a day — from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. — at the hospital, unless excused earlier. | Judge Masipa said on Tuesday that Mr. Pistorius would be examined as an outpatient at the Weskoppies Psychiatric Hospital in Pretoria, the South African capital, where the trial is being held in the North Gauteng High Court. The judge said that Mr. Pistorius’s examination would begin on May 26 and last no more than 30 days. He would be required to spend seven hours a day — from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. — at the hospital, unless excused earlier. |
| The judge said that the aim of the scrutiny would be to determine whether Mr. Pistorius was able to appreciate the wrongfulness of his actions and whether, under criminal law, he was responsible for his actions when he shot Ms. Steenkamp. The case was adjourned until June 30. | |
| Judge Masipa said that the athlete would be examined by three mental health specialists — one from the defense and two appointed by the court itself. The hospital, mainly comprising a series of low, brick buildings dating to 1892, lies on a wooded, 200-acre site in western Pretoria and houses some 1,400 patients. | |
| Last week, Mr. Pistorius’s defense called a forensic psychiatrist, Merryll Vorster, who testified that the athlete, born without fibula bones, suffered from a generalized anxiety disorder dating to a double amputation below the knee at the age of 11 months followed by a difficult childhood. | Last week, Mr. Pistorius’s defense called a forensic psychiatrist, Merryll Vorster, who testified that the athlete, born without fibula bones, suffered from a generalized anxiety disorder dating to a double amputation below the knee at the age of 11 months followed by a difficult childhood. |
| His father was described as irresponsible and frequently absent while his mother was so jittery about possible intruders that she slept with a firearm under her pillow. | His father was described as irresponsible and frequently absent while his mother was so jittery about possible intruders that she slept with a firearm under her pillow. |
| Dr. Vorster said that the disorder did not mean Mr. Pistorius could not distinguish between right and wrong, but that the condition would have affected his behavior on the night of the shooting. The athlete’s defense lawyer, Barry Roux, had apparently intended the evidence to bolster the argument that Mr. Pistorius was more than usually susceptible to fears about intruders, particularly in light of a sense of vulnerability related to his disability. | Dr. Vorster said that the disorder did not mean Mr. Pistorius could not distinguish between right and wrong, but that the condition would have affected his behavior on the night of the shooting. The athlete’s defense lawyer, Barry Roux, had apparently intended the evidence to bolster the argument that Mr. Pistorius was more than usually susceptible to fears about intruders, particularly in light of a sense of vulnerability related to his disability. |
| But the prosecutor, Gerrie Nel, seized on Dr. Vorster’s testimony to argue that, if there was a question of mental health, Judge Masipa had no option but to order a psychiatric assessment. | But the prosecutor, Gerrie Nel, seized on Dr. Vorster’s testimony to argue that, if there was a question of mental health, Judge Masipa had no option but to order a psychiatric assessment. |
| The judge said last Wednesday that while it may not have been the defense’s intention, Dr. Vorster’s diagnosis raised a question of “criminal incapacity.” The judge quoted the doctor as saying that even though Mr. Pistorius appreciated the difference between right and wrong, “his ability to act in accordance with this” may have been affected by his disorder. | The judge said last Wednesday that while it may not have been the defense’s intention, Dr. Vorster’s diagnosis raised a question of “criminal incapacity.” The judge quoted the doctor as saying that even though Mr. Pistorius appreciated the difference between right and wrong, “his ability to act in accordance with this” may have been affected by his disorder. |